Car accidents happen. A driver
makes a mistake and hits another person’s vehicle, the police are called,
medical care is administered if necessary, and insurance information is
exchanged. While unfortunate and inconvenient, most times car accidents follow a
predictable procedure, and the insurance company of the at fault party will
cover the damage. But what happens if you’re driving down a dark road and a
pair of headlights bears down on you, hits you and then leaves the scene of the
accident without stopping? What if you have injuries, medical bills and damage
to your car but have no way of knowing who caused your accident?

These
situations are known as collisions with unknown drivers, and it can be
difficult to collect what is owed to you under your insurance policy. The good
news for the victim of such an accident is that it is possible for them to
collect under uninsured motorist coverage. This type of coverage is statutorily
required in South Carolina, and anyone who is insured has this coverage available. See S.C. Code Ann.§ 38-77-150. The
bad news is that concerns regarding fraud have led South Carolina lawmakers to
enact specific provisions as to when a person is able to make a claim on their
uninsured motorist coverage for an unknown driver. Unless the victim has
complied with the law, the driver’s coverage will be denied. For this reason it
I essential that you get legal representation if you find yourself in this
situation.

S.C. Code Ann. § 38-77-170 states lays out three requirements in order to make a claim. The first requirement is that “the insured or someone in his behalf report[] the accident to some appropriate police authority within a reasonable time, under all the circumstances, after its occurrence[.]” S.C. Code Ann. § 38-77-170(1). Essentially, this section states that the victim must promptly report the accident to the police as soon as they become aware of what has happened and are able to do so. While this provision seems straight forward, it still needs to be mentioned to ensure compliance with the law.

The second requirement is the most complicated and involves
proving that an accident with an unknown driver actually occurred. The law
states that “the injury or damage [must be] caused by physical contact with the
unknown vehicle, or the accident must have been witnessed by someone other than
the owner or operator of the insured vehicle; provided however, the witness
must sign an affidavit attesting to the truth of the facts of the accident
contained in the affidavit[.]” S.C.
Code Ann. § 38-77-170(2). What this means is that you need
proof that the accident occurred. The simplest way to prove this is evidence of
contact between the victim’s car and the unknown driver’s car, which is
commonly referred to as “trading paint.”

If no contact occurred however, as in our earlier example
where an unknown car forces another off the road, then there must be a witness
willing to sign an affidavit explaining what happened. This requirement can
become complicated, as the witness cannot be the driver or owner of the vehicle
making the claim. This means that if your friend is driving your car and you
are in the passengers seat when an accident occurs, neither one of you may
write a satisfactory affidavit regarding the accident. In this case, you are
the owner of the vehicle and your friend was the driver of the vehicle,
therefore you are both disqualified by the law from writing an affidavit.
Unless you are able to find someone else who witnessed the accident, you would
not be covered by your uninsured motorist coverage. Should you find yourself in
this situation, it is important to keep in mind who will be the witness. If
nobody in the car is eligible, it is a good idea to see if anyone nearby saw
the accident occur and would be willing to make a statement on your behalf.

The third and final requirement is that “the insured was not
negligent in failing to determine the identity of the other vehicle and the
driver of the other vehicle at the time of the accident.” This essentially
means that you can’t make a claim for an unknown driver if there is no reason
the driver should have been unknown. If you are in a car accident with someone
and they identify themselves to you, the driver is no longer unknown.
Therefore, a claim for an accident with an unknown driver is no longer
appropriate.

If you are in an accident caused by an unknown driver and
comply with these three requirements, you will be able to successfully file a
claim with your insurance company. Insurance companies don’t always pay as they
should, however, and sometimes you will have to fight with the insurance
company in order to prove that you are eligible to make an uninsured motorist
claim.

If you or anyone you know has ever been in a car accident
and needs assistance or is struggling with their insurance company, contact Gruenloh
Law at (843) 577-0027 and set up your free consultation.